Editorials

by Rajen Kumar

No Escaping Social Media

Running a magazine concentrating on issues of small and medium enterprises and managing with limited resources is a like living life on the edge. In this rush of meeting deadlines,...

Special Reports

Apr 2012

EMRC, Brussels Associates with SME WORLD as its New Media Partner

EMRC has promoted business partnerships with the developing world and has organised dozens of business forums in key decision-making cities, such as Amsterdam, Rome,...

Interviews

Dinesh Rai, Man of the Moment

SME WORLD Bureau
Jan 2010

Dinesh Rai who took over as Secretary, Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) about two years ago is more optimistic about the state of the sector than any one else. In effect, Rai holds the center-stage as the Task Force is depending on him for basic inputs for designing new policies for the MSMEs.

Rai, an Indian Administrative Services Officer of Uttar Pradesh Cadre (1974 Batch) is also a double Postgraduate from Allahabad University (1971) and University of York, UK (1989).

Rai has had his stint in Delhi Development Authority as Vice-Chairman and was Managing Director of National Cooperative Development Corporation, a statutory organization of Government of India. He has also worked in different capacities in the Government of Uttar Pradesh and also in the Government of India. In Uttar Pradesh, he was the Principal Secretary (Revenue), Principal Secretary (Technical Education), Secretary (Animal Husbandry and Fisheries), and Secretary (Science & Technology), Director General of Council of Science & Technology. He has also worked as a District Magistrate of Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Pilibhit Districts of Uttar Pradesh. His area of specialization is policy planning and implementation, project appraisal and monitoring, financial management and maintenance of essential supplies.

SME WORLD spoke to Dinesh Rai recently.

SMEW: What are the principal constraints the Indian SMEs sector is facing?

The micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector is a heterogeneous sector, both in terms of size of enterprises and its sectoral composition. Hence, the problems faced by the sector are diverse. However, some of the common problems faced by the sector relate to lack of timely and adequate credit, obsolete technology, infrastructure bottlenecks, marketing constraints, delayed payments of their dues by large units, enhanced competition due to liberalized trade regime, etc.

SMEW: We have not been able to create demand for the sector. What should be done to create demand for the SME products?

There has to be more thrust on product design, development and innovations, quality improvement, brand building, packaging, setting up of marketing hubs, etc., in order to create more demand for the SME products. The SMEs need to be assisted enabling them to participate in domestic and international fairs/ exhibitions in a bigger way to display their products and widen business opportunities/prospects. A Public Procurement Policy for micro and small enterprises (MSEs) would also help in ensuring a fair share of the market.

SMEW: Education and technology shift are the areas in which our entrepreneurs need urgent attention. What is being done towards this?

The National Manufacturing Competitiveness Programme (NMCP) has been launched by the Ministry of MSME as a major programme to develop global competitiveness among Indian micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). It includes schemes/ programmes for Lean Manufacturing, Quality Management Standards and Quality Management Tools, Design Clinics, setting up of Mini Tool Rooms, providing support through Incubators, etc. These schemes/programmes would help the MSMEs to adopt the best practices and effectively meet the challenges of a competitive environment.

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